2007 - The Beginning
| Location: | Poughkeepsie,
New York Marist College, Fulton Townhouses |
| Hardware: | 8-Channel
Parallel Port Relay Board USB Experiment Board |
| Music: | Wizards
in Winter - Trans-Siberian Orchestra Siberian Sleigh Ride - Trans-Siberian Orchestra |
Vixen Sequences:
Feel free to download my sequences and adjust them to fit your needs. Unfortunately I am unable to provide the music as well, but you can grab the tracks off iTunes or any other music download service. You can open the sequences with the Vixen Lights software. Download the latest version here.(Right-Click the file and select Save Link As)
The Result:
Hardware:
It was a simple setup,
utilizing mostly hobbyist projects I already had.
The core of the show was a 8-Channel Parallel Port Relay board.
I've had it for about four years, and I don't even remember why I originally bought it.
However when it came time to go primetime, The dorm setup didn't really allow any wires to traverse from indoor to outdoor. The solution was to place a small laptop in the enclosure below. There was only one problem, the laptop did not have a parallel port.
Velleman USB Experiment Board to the rescue!
By using the outputs on the USB board and connecting them to the relays
already in the Parallel port Relay box, I was good to go!The core of the show was a 8-Channel Parallel Port Relay board.
I've had it for about four years, and I don't even remember why I originally bought it.
However when it came time to go primetime, The dorm setup didn't really allow any wires to traverse from indoor to outdoor. The solution was to place a small laptop in the enclosure below. There was only one problem, the laptop did not have a parallel port.
Velleman USB Experiment Board to the rescue!
Controlling The Show:
While most people use FM
Transmitters so interested folk can hear the music, that really wasn't
an option for this set up. So we had specific showtimes each weekend
and broadcast the music over a makeshift PA. (read: guitar amp)
While the laptop running Vixen was neatly tucked away inside the enclosure, we needed a way to start and stop the show! Our solution was to use the built in wireless in the laptop. We setup a wireless router and also connected my Treo (SmartPhone) to the network. By utilizing a remote desktop client, we had full control of the laptop!
While the laptop running Vixen was neatly tucked away inside the enclosure, we needed a way to start and stop the show! Our solution was to use the built in wireless in the laptop. We setup a wireless router and also connected my Treo (SmartPhone) to the network. By utilizing a remote desktop client, we had full control of the laptop!
Pictures:
| The Project Enclosure: |  |
| The
Nasty Mess Inside: (Without the laptop) |
 |
| Connections to the relay board: |  |
| Inside the Relay Board |  |
| The
Velleman USB Experiment Board: (Notice the DB25 Connector to connect to the Relay Board) |
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